


commemoration

by eremetic



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Birthday, Game Spoilers, Gen, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 07:50:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11077221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eremetic/pseuds/eremetic
Summary: The two things Akira associated most with Goro Akechi were pancakes and coffee. It stands to reason that they would make a perfect birthday gift.





	commemoration

Finding out Akechi's birthday hadn't been deliberate, per say. It just wasn't that hard to find out - even if the detective was a rather private person, there's some things a celebrity can't keep hidden. Besides, Futaba could dig up anything and everything, and it was just another detail listed in the profile she had constructed of him. 

Akira didn't give it much thought until his own birthday rolled around. He hadn't told anyone, but they found out just the same - Futaba yet again. Initially he thought it was an April Fools prank when they showed up in his home town, intent on kidnapping him for a few days until the new school term started. Little did he know that they had planned a surprise birthday party for him too, though he suspected they'd have used any excuse.

That day they all had found out Makoto's birthday was later that month, which led to finding out everyone else's birthdays as well. When they were Phantom Thieves, they were too new and too busy to celebrate something so mundane. From now on, they'd make a point of it. As for Morgana's birthday, it'd be the day they met him, of course!

No one mentioned Akechi. That didn't stop Akira from thinking about him anyway, and later that night he had reviewed the old data. Morgana said nothing, but gave him a long look.

Two months passed, not much changed. Even absolved of his crime, Akira was persona-non-grata at school. Any hopes of reconciling with old friends had been quickly dashed, as in a small town scandal is hard to shake. While his mother had become his staunchest defender now his name had been cleared, he remembered how easy it was for her to abandon him when the pressure got too much. As for his Dad, Akira only heard from his father when he was sent money in exchange for good grades and good behavior. 

All that didn't matter nearly as much as it used to. Akira had his friends back in Tokyo, bonds not so easily forgotten or broken. Which is precisely why he gets up early for once, making his way to the kitchen. Morgana barely pays him any attention. 

The two things Akira associated most with Goro Akechi were pancakes and coffee. It stands to reason that they would make a perfect birthday gift. He does his best with what he's got - store bought ingredients and a second-hand coffee machine Sojiro had parted with as a present. Unable to help himself, Akira flips the pancakes with incredible showmanship - it didn't matter that no one else was around to see, though he imagines that Akechi would have both loved and hated it. It added that extra "Joker"-flair.

Akira's proud of what he's accomplished when he's done... but he was no near finished. Carefully, Akira wraps the plate of pancakes with saran wrap, and does the same for the coffee. There's a place he needs to go.

The small shrine isn't far, tucked away in a side-street by the local hospital. While uncommon in the city, it wasn't odd to find them occupying the strangest of places in small towns. When he gets there, Akira carefully places the plate of pancakes and the coffee on the altar, glad it's early enough in the morning that no one would spot him. No doubt that would just exacerbate the rumors already circulating.

He stands back, taking in the humid summer air and the gentle smiling faces of the Jizo statues the shrine was built for. Their red bibs are stark against worn grey stone, and it isn't lost on Akira that Jizo are often prayed to when someone's gone missing - presumed dead. 

In the distance, crows begin to caw as dawn breaks. A sign.

Akira reaches into his pockets for the matches and candles he bought. It's no incense, but he figures that on this occasion candles are a perfect substitute. 

Silently, he wishes Akechi a happy birthday. It might be a little late, but someone has to at least once.

**Author's Note:**

> About Jizo: http://www.artbyoju.com/jizotext.html
> 
> I came across a shrine a lot like the one in this fic when I was in Japan, so I thought it was pretty appropriate to include. Otherwise, this was a really rough and quick piece of work for Akechi's birthday! I hope it does him justice. /o/;; (lol)


End file.
